In this week’s Medical Discovery News by UTMB’s David Niesel and Norbert Herzog: In the series “True Blood,” the invention of artificial blood allows vampires to live among humans without inciting fear. In the real world, however, artificial blood would have very different effects, as 85 million units of blood are donated worldwide and there is always a demand for more. An artificial blood substitute free of infectious agents that could be stored at room temperature and used on anyone regardless of blood type would be revolutionary.